All entries by this author

Sound of own voice

Feb 7th, 2020 12:30 pm | By

Trump is being his usual garrulous self-admiring random tedious self in North Carolina at an official event at a North Carolina community college. Also getting everything wrong.

I’d cry; I’d cry because … Read the rest



Profit

Feb 7th, 2020 12:01 pm | By

Nice little earner:

The president’s company charges his own Secret Service agents up to $650 a night to stay at his properties – a bill that is ultimately paid by U.S. taxpayers – when they stay the night protecting him, the Washington Post reported this morning. Here’s more from the Post:

At Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, the Secret Service was charged the $650 rate dozens of times in 2017, and a different rate, $396.15, dozens more times in 2018, according to documents from Trump’s visits.

And at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, the Secret Service was charged $17,000 a month to use a three-bedroom cottage on the property, an unusually high rent for homes in that area, according to

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His majesty frowns

Feb 7th, 2020 11:49 am | By

Payback begins.

Standing outside the White House for some Chopper Talk this morning, Donald Trump said that there will be a decision sometime in the future about what to do with Lt Col Alexander Vindman, a member of the national security council who testified against the president during the impeachment trial. Bloomberg News reported last night that the White House is thinking about moving Vindman out of the council and rotate him to a position in the Department of Defense.

When asked about any plans to remove Vindman from his position, Trump said that he is “not happy with him” and that a decision about what do with him will be made later.

The tyrant is not happy. … Read the rest



A new record

Feb 7th, 2020 11:43 am | By

Tick tick tick

Antarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station thermometer reading 18.3C, beating the previous record by 0.8C.

The reading, taken at Esperanza on the northern tip of the continent’s peninsula, beats Antarctica’s previous record of 17.5C, set in March 2015. …

Antarctica’s peninsula – the area that points towards South America – is one of the fastest warming places on earth, heating by almost 3C over the past 50 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Almost all the region’s glaciers are melting.

Never mind that, let’s talk about how hot Lisa Page is.… Read the rest



Do the Bergdorf Goodman one instead

Feb 7th, 2020 11:27 am | By

The sewer gets deeper again.

Look especially at that Jezebel-y image – the man is sitting there like your basic G-man, foursquare, suit and tie, all business, got work to do, while the woman is a squirming crouching Sex Snare in sex clothes seducing him away from his work that he has to do. They’re not colleagues, they’re professional guy and slut whore.… Read the rest



And by the way

Feb 7th, 2020 8:48 am | By

Some unfortunate on the staff had to transcribe Trump’s words-vomit yesterday so that we could see the full horror without having to watch and listen to the sniffing gasping sneering poltroon.

Let’s have a sample or two.

And we did win.  It was one of the greatest wins of all time.  And they said, “Okay, he won.”  And, you know, I wrote this down because that was where a thing called the “insurance policy” — to me, when I saw the insurance policy — and that was done long before the election.  That was done when they thought that Hillary Clinton was going to win.

And, by the way, Hillary Clinton and the DNC paid for millions — millions of

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She is too so representative

Feb 7th, 2020 8:01 am | By

The BBC reports a startling new development:

Jameela Jamil has announced she is “queer” after receiving criticism for being cast in a new LGBT-interest show.

US broadcaster HBO announced on Tuesday that the actress and model would be a judge on its new unscripted voguing contest Legendary.

The news prompted an online backlash from people who said The Good Place star was not representative of the black LGBT community.

That prompted her to issue a statement addressing her sexuality.

But this identity “queer” is not at all a label of convenience for when people think you’re just another boring cis straight woman who as a cis straight woman is obviously not marginalized or oppressed in any way.

Opening with

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It has to go through Barr

Feb 6th, 2020 5:04 pm | By

This is bad. This is very bad.

https://twitter.com/adamgoldmanNYT/status/1225382190659272704 https://twitter.com/adamgoldmanNYT/status/1225382915959402496

Barr is Barr. Barr is a wholly owned enforcer for Donald Trump. Donald Trump is now free to steal the next election eleven ways from Sunday and no one will be able to stop him.… Read the rest



Creeeeeeepy

Feb 6th, 2020 1:46 pm | By

Remember this guy?

This “hi would you unfollow this person?” guy? I decided to take a look at his tweets to see if he says that kind of thing a lot.

That kind of thing, maybe not, but that thing itself, yes. Downright weirdly a lot.

Read the rest



That a lot of people wouldn’t have said

Feb 6th, 2020 1:15 pm | By

I’ve almost finished with the Trump-excoriation for now, but not quite.

Politico reports:

Later Thursday, at a victory lap celebrating his impeachment acquittal, Trump said: “I had Nancy Pelosi sitting four seats away, and I’m saying things that a lot of people wouldn’t have said. But I meant everything. I meant every word of it.”

Beware of people who brag about saying things that a lot of people wouldn’t have said. Beware beware beware. Doing that is a sure sign of someone who is both an egomaniac and a rude bully. Turn around and walk swiftly away.

“I don’t need any lessons from anybody, especially the president of the United States, about dignity,” Pelosi said Thursday, adding she feels

Read the rest


Defying belief

Feb 6th, 2020 12:53 pm | By

This

is

BONKERS

It’s stark raving bonkers.… Read the rest



Hire all the hacks

Feb 6th, 2020 11:49 am | By

Meanwhile, in the entirely unimportant world of foreign policy

Lana Marks is a successful fashion designer and member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Though she has no prior diplomatic experience, Marks is also Trump’s ambassador to South Africa, and last month she forced out her second in command, the veteran career foreign service officer David Young. According to multiple current and former officials familiar with the matter, the issue arose following Marks’s attempts to elevate her son to a senior role in the embassy, an apparent violation of State Department rules.

That’s great, isn’t it? Wholly unqualified rando kicks out experienced foreign service officer apparently because he didn’t applaud her corrupt effort to give … Read the rest



He feels emboldened

Feb 6th, 2020 10:57 am | By

For a time my Twitter feed was full of journalists, lawyers, ethics boffins, and former federal employees all exclaiming at how unhinged and incoherent Trump’s endless “speech” was turning out to be.

CNN sums up:

President Donald Trump emerged vindictive and angry at a rambling noontime event on Thursday meant to mark his impeachment acquittal.

“We’ve been going through this now for over three years. It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars. And this should never, ever happen to another president, ever,” Trump told an East Room packed with conservative lawmakers, media pundits, and a number of Cabinet officials, who cheered as Trump meandered through a list of grievances and

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Awful warning

Feb 6th, 2020 10:31 am | By

Last June…

Not a real cover of TIME and not a real cover story in TIME. As TIME pointed out.

He pretends these things are “jokes,” can’t you pussies take a joke, yadda yadda, but they’re not really. If he could steal the whole thing and keep it for all eternity he would. He’s both a megalomaniac and a childish clumsy fool, and the fool part isn’t making him one bit less dangerous.… Read the rest



The revenge

Feb 6th, 2020 10:10 am | By

Trump is giving a “speech” (a series of blurts and ramblings) to celebrate his successful coup.

I suppose he means there were people who thought he was a bad man before he started running for president. Well no kidding. Birtherism? The Central Park 5? Yes we thought he was a bad man; of course we did. He stands around preening and smirking about how bad he is and also whines about people who think he’s bad. He’s not very alert to cause and effect, it seems.

Read the rest


Two for one

Feb 6th, 2020 9:28 am | By

Meanwhile Evil Junior is contributing his mite.

Donald Trump Jr. posted a picture on Instagram calling Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) a “pussy” after the former GOP presidential candidate announced that he would be voting to convict President Trump on one of two impeachment charges. The picture featured Romney wearing high-waisted jeans, and was captioned: “Mom Jeans, Because you’re a pussy.”

And what could be more disgusting and contemptible than to be a woman?

It’s always useful to know what they think of us. Depressing, but useful.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8MnQ3flAy-/… Read the rest


Latest consignment of lies

Feb 6th, 2020 9:13 am | By

The lies continue.

President Donald Trump made a striking claim Monday, insisting it was he who ensured that people with preexisting medical problems will always be covered by health insurance.

He wasn’t.

Duh. That’s the whole point of the ACA – spreading the risk.

He also complained anew that Democrats didn’t allow him to send lawyers to the impeachment inquiry. The opposite is true: Democrats invited him to send lawyers to the inquiry and he said no.

He should have been impeached on day one for being such a relentless shameless liar.

Trump’s administration has been pressing in court for full repeal of the Obama-era law, including provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions from health insurance discrimination.

With

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An award that will live in infamy

Feb 5th, 2020 5:19 pm | By

Editing to add: see Skeletor’s comment. Some of these are unsourced. I have to run so can’t Google them right now.

Editing to add 2, next morning. Skeletor is right. A passage from John K. Wilson’s book on Limbaugh has details – someone going by the name “Cobra” put the James Earl Ray one on Wikiquotes and it spread via Rachel Maddow and others. And now by me.

The Surly Southern Liberal has a collection of some of Limbaugh’s more poisonous assertions.

Top 10 Racist Rush Limbaugh Quotes

1. “I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m

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Suppose David Brooks knew how to think

Feb 5th, 2020 4:02 pm | By

There’s also the revolting cynicism of David Brooks’s saying hey why didn’t “Trump opponents” – i.e. Representatives who think he should not be committing crimes – just concentrate on fixing the potholes instead of doing their constitutional duty to prevent the president from abusing his power to extort political favors from vulnerable allies. Gee, I don’t know, maybe it’s because they really do actually think that a president should not be abusing his power to extort political favors from vulnerable allies. I kind of hope they do, if you want to know the truth.

I kind of think Brooks ought to.

Why did the Times hire him, again? I never can remember.

https://twitter.com/eriktarloff/status/1225202528591085568 https://twitter.com/donmoyn/status/1225193024713564160… Read the rest


Suppose Brooks had spent the time gardening?

Feb 5th, 2020 3:46 pm | By

David Brooks. Again. He tries my patience.

Suppose Mitch McConnell hadn’t blocked every single bill the Democratic House sent to the Senate?

Plus…

He tries my patience.… Read the rest